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San Diego Union-Tribune
September 14, 2007 By Associated Press
WASHINGTON – The military's medical community got a black eye that “we didn't completely deserve” about conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the top Pentagon health official said yesterday at a ceremony for a new amputee center.
Dr. S. Ward Casscells' defense of conditions at Walter Reed was a departure from the message by many military leaders who have taken responsibility for the problems.
In February, news reports of poor outpatient care besieged Walter Reed, the flagship hospital of the Army's system of medical facilities.
The $10 million rehabilitation center for amputees at Walter Reed is a source of pride for the hospital. Soldiers who have lost a limb will be able to relearn tasks such as shooting a weapon or driving a car at the 31,000-square-foot facility.
The comment by Casscells, assistant secretary of defense for health, came during the ribbon-cutting ceremony after he thanked Maj. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, the commander of Walter Reed, for his tremendous effort to improve the situation “to make it first-class in every way.”
Casscells then thanked doctors and other medical personnel “who didn't quit when many of us in the military health system got a black eye that we didn't completely deserve.”
Rep. John Murtha, a critic of the Bush administration's handling of the war, said that he thinks problems at the hospital have been resolved.
“They were overwhelmed. They couldn't handle it, is what it amounted to,” said Murtha, D-Pa., chairman of the defense appropriations subcommittee.
September 14, 2007 By Associated Press
WASHINGTON – The military's medical community got a black eye that “we didn't completely deserve” about conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the top Pentagon health official said yesterday at a ceremony for a new amputee center.
Dr. S. Ward Casscells' defense of conditions at Walter Reed was a departure from the message by many military leaders who have taken responsibility for the problems.
In February, news reports of poor outpatient care besieged Walter Reed, the flagship hospital of the Army's system of medical facilities.
The $10 million rehabilitation center for amputees at Walter Reed is a source of pride for the hospital. Soldiers who have lost a limb will be able to relearn tasks such as shooting a weapon or driving a car at the 31,000-square-foot facility.
The comment by Casscells, assistant secretary of defense for health, came during the ribbon-cutting ceremony after he thanked Maj. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, the commander of Walter Reed, for his tremendous effort to improve the situation “to make it first-class in every way.”
Casscells then thanked doctors and other medical personnel “who didn't quit when many of us in the military health system got a black eye that we didn't completely deserve.”
Rep. John Murtha, a critic of the Bush administration's handling of the war, said that he thinks problems at the hospital have been resolved.
“They were overwhelmed. They couldn't handle it, is what it amounted to,” said Murtha, D-Pa., chairman of the defense appropriations subcommittee.